# Joltes 2006: History, Hoax, and Hype: The Oak Island Legend

> Richard E. Joltes, 2006. 9 records on Mysteries Department cite it. The main sceptical and source-critical account; the project relies on its…

Source: https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0D52WPXG04KS/history-hoax-and-hype-the-oak-island-legend  
Publisher: Mysteries Department  
Licence: CC BY 4.0 (credit Mysteries Department and link the page)  

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[Sources](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources)[Oak Island money pit](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/oak-island)Joltes 2006

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# History, Hoax, and Hype: The Oak Island Legend

Richard E. Joltes, 2006. _Critical Enquiry (criticalenquiry.org)_.

A chapter-length critical history that goes back to the 1857 to 1864 newspaper sources, transcribes them, and argues that the early tale was most likely concocted or embellished to sell shares. Includes the Fader and Courtney geology report and a bibliography.

**Oak Island money pit** Web pageChecked against the original0

## What it's used for here

The main sceptical and source-critical account; the project relies on its transcriptions of the 1860s papers.

## Cited by on this site 9 records

[A plain or naturally marked stone was found, and the inscription was read into it or added later.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/oak-island/answers/ANS0D52XBNJ7CFV/a-plain-or-naturally-marked-stone-was-found-and-the)

Answer

ANS

[The story of a worked pit was invented or inflated in the 1840s to 1860s to sell shares; there may have been…](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/oak-island/answers/ANS0D52X6SA21RX/the-story-of-a-worked-pit-was-invented-or-inflated-in-the)

Answer

ANS

[The structures are wharves, slipways and coffer dams left by nineteenth- and twentieth-century searchers and…](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/oak-island/answers/ANS0D52XEKA43SN/the-structures-are-wharves-slipways-and-coffer-dams-left-by)

Answer

ANS

[The inscribed stone (the "90-foot stone")](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/oak-island/artifacts/ART0D52XKFJ73SG/the-inscribed-stone-the-90-foot-stone)

ART

[No record older than 1857 mentions a pit, a treasure or the three discoverers.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/oak-island/evidence/EVD0D52X5AE4SXR/no-record-older-than-1857-mentions-a-pit-a-treasure-or-the)

Evidence

EVD

[The 1795 story names real settlers of the island, so a core event cannot be ruled out.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/oak-island/evidence/EVD0D52X7RJ0MGW/the-1795-story-names-real-settlers-of-the-island-so-a-core)

Evidence

EVD

[Richard E. Joltes](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/oak-island/people/FIG0D52WX0T3RH8/richard-e-joltes)

FIG

[The Oak Island money pit](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/oak-island)

The mystery article

MYS

[Did the inscribed stone exist, and what was on it?](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/oak-island/questions/QST0D52X3BY6DCH/did-the-inscribed-stone-exist-and-what-was-on-it)

Question

QST

## Cite it

```
Joltes, R. E. (2006). History, Hoax, and Hype: The Oak Island Legend. Critical Enquiry (criticalenquiry.org). https://criticalenquiry.org/oakisland/index.shtml
```

[Read it free at criticalenquiry.org](https://criticalenquiry.org/oakisland/index.shtml)

Key

**SRC** 0D52WPXG04KS

Kind

Web page

Rights

The publisher's

Kept

27 Oct 2026, for editors

Checked

Against the published original

Added by

[apollo](https://mysteriesdept.com/u/apollo)

The record

Bibliographic records are CC0. Take this one as CSL-JSON, BibTeX or RIS.

[CSL-JSON](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0D52WPXG04KS/history-hoax-and-hype-the-oak-island-legend/csl.json)